A well‑known Maine benefactor and retired Navy officer was discovered fatally shot inside his unit at a senior living community in an affluent Maryland suburb on Valentine’s Day. The killing has stunned two distant communities, and authorities have yet to make any arrests.
Robert Fuller Jr., 87, was found unresponsive with significant head injuries at the Cogir Potomac Senior Living residence in Potomac, Maryland, on the morning of February 14, 2026. Montgomery County police responded to the 10800 block of Potomac Tennis Lane around 7:34 a.m. after receiving a medical emergency report described by investigators as a “reported code.”
Emergency crews attempted to revive him, but Fuller was declared dead at the scene. Police quickly noted head trauma, and after examining the area, homicide detectives confirmed he had been shot. The case is now being treated as a homicide.
Investigators have released no suspect details, and no one has been arrested as the inquiry entered its seventh day. Authorities cannot yet determine whether Fuller was specifically targeted or whether the assailant came from inside or outside the building. His body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy to verify the official cause and manner of death.
Fuller moved to the Washington, D.C. region several years ago with his wife to be nearer to her family and remained in Potomac after she died. Friends described him as a wealthy attorney who practiced law in Maine for more than three decades, a senior Naval Reserve officer, and a philanthropist who contributed millions to support local initiatives.
In 2021, Fuller donated $1.64 million to upgrade Cony High School’s Alumni Field complex in Augusta, Maine, reviving a $2.3 million improvement effort stalled by funding shortages and financial strains from COVID‑19. The City Council later renamed the facility Fuller Field in his honor. The upgrades included an artificial turf field, improved bleachers, and a new area for track and field events.
“I believe that when a high school has a continuing history of athletic success, it fosters a sense of community pride,” Fuller said at the time. “So I don’t think of my action as simply a gift but rather as an investment in Augusta’s future.”
Fuller and his late wife Moira had lived in Winthrop, Maine, and supported numerous community organizations across the region, among them MaineGeneral Medical Center, the Kennebec Valley YMCA, Lithgow Public Library, Old Fort Western, and the Kennebec Historical Society. A senior Naval Reserve officer, Fuller also wrote the 2009 novel “Unnatural Deaths.”
Fuller bore a complex family history as a descendant of Melville Weston Fuller, the eighth Chief Justice of the United States, who served from 1888 to 1910. The Fuller Court oversaw the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling, which established the “separate but equal” doctrine that sanctioned racial segregation and upheld Jim Crow laws for decades.
This historical link sparked renewed controversy in recent years when Fuller funded a statue of his ancestor outside the Kennebec County Courthouse in 2013. After George Floyd’s 2020 killing and the resulting examination of racial inequities in the county’s past, the statue drew public criticism. Kennebec County commissioners decided to return the statue to Fuller, who arranged for its removal. He considered but ultimately decided against placing it in a proposed museum near the courthouse.
Kent London, president of the Kennebec Historical Society, expressed sorrow at the loss of a major supporter with deep ties to Augusta. Fuller helped the society acquire its headquarters—the Henry Weld Fuller Jr. House, once home to one of his relatives—and played a key role in creating the society’s development fund, named for his late wife.
“He’s going to be missed,” London said. “The history of the Fuller family goes back to the very beginning of Augusta.”
Maine State Rep. Bill Bridgeo, who first met Fuller while serving as Augusta’s city manager, said the philanthropist contributed to “a new YMCA, a new hospital in town, a big expansion to our high school.” Bridgeo told NBC Washington that he intends to honor Fuller in the state legislature.
The killing has unsettled residents of the Cogir Potomac Senior Living facility. Executive Director Rachel Grant emailed the community Monday afternoon, stressing that resident safety remains their highest priority. She said the incident was isolated and there is no continuing threat, though she withheld further details to protect those involved and the ongoing investigation. The facility has since increased safety protocols, added extra security staff, and plans to provide counseling and other support services.
Montgomery County police urge anyone with information to contact Crime Solvers at 1‑866‑411‑8477. Tips can be submitted anonymously, and those leading to an arrest may qualify for a reward between $250 and $10,000.
The case represents a disturbing incident in a wealthy community rarely touched by violent crime. Detectives are still working to understand what led to the fatal shooting of an elderly man inside what should have been a secure residence. Fuller’s military service and wide‑ranging philanthropy have prompted many tributes from those who knew him as a generous and civically engaged figure.
